Sea Turtles: Sentinels of Ecosystem Health
By studying sea turtle populations, scientists are able to understand more about the marine habitats they occupy and better protect areas of concern.
NOAA Fisheries scientists from both the East and West Coasts teamed up to study sea turtles using cross sections of sea turtle humerus bones. A combination of skeletochronology and stable isotope analysis enables Drs. Larisa Avens and Cali Turner Tomaszewicz to accurately age sea turtles that have stranded and understand where they lived and for how long, what their diet consisted of, and when they had years of slow or rapid growth.
If you are interested in sea turtles and the people who spend their lives studying them, this is your chance to learn more from NOAA scientists.
Read the details below and join us on June 12, 2018! We hope to hear from you.
Reddit AUA Details
Who: Dr. Larisa Avens, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Cali Turner Tomaszewicz, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
What: Reddit "Ask Us Anything" (AUA) - What do sea turtle skeletons reveal about ocean ecosystems?
When: June 12th, 1 - 3 p.m. EST
Where: Ask your questions on Reddit
Our Experts
Dr. Larisa Avens
Avens been a research fishery biologist with the Southeast Fisheries Science Center since 1998. She has been the lead for skeletochronology research at the Beaufort Lab since 2003.
Dr. Cali Turner Tomaszewicz
Turner Tomaszewicz has worked with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center Marine Turtle Ecology and Assessment Program since 2008.
A dyed section of a loggerhead sea turtle humerus bone with the edges of skeletal growth marks shown as black lines. New bone growth is added to the outer edge of the bone, with the earliest growth marks found toward the center. Analyzing growth marks in humerus bones makes it possible to collect data on sea turtle age and size over long time periods spanning years.
